07/15/12

Above picture: What I had in mind for the type of house they will be staying at. But there will be less windows since they don't want sand to slip into the house.

Picture Credits: technikarsitek from DeviantArt

Yoyoyo, wassup my lovelies! So, due to (a somewhat) popular demand, I will keep this story's main couple as khuntoria :D Hmm... Shashasy and Syahsah92, are you two related? :P

Oh! And I had a lot of trouble choosing Taecyeon as Nichkhun's twin brother, so bear with me please~ Enjoy the new chapter!

            “Stuck up jerk,” Victoria muffled through the cloth covering that covered from the sandy wind. “He’s nothing but a stuck up jerk.”

            Hyuna turned to Victoria. “Vic, it’s only the first day. You’ll get to know him better later.”

            “What if I don’t want to know him better?” Victoria whined.

            “Well, you’ll have to,” somebody was behind them.

            Victoria turned around. “Who are you?”

            “I’m Taecyeon,” he said. He looked surprisingly like Nichkhun. “I’m Nichkhun’s twin and stunt double.”

            “Stunt double?” Victoria asked. “Why does he need a stunt double?”

            “If we were to get ambushed by anybody, I would try my best to get captured, pretending that I am the king,” he explained. “It’s a safety precaution that the advisors thought up.”

            “So you’re going to sacrifice your life for your twin brother?” Victoria asked, surprised.

            Taecyeon thought about it and then nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I’m doing this for the king.”

            “Who cares if he’s the king? He’s your brother! Your equal! You shouldn’t just sacrifice your life like that!” Victoria raged.

            Taecyeon smiled and shook his head. “That’s not true, at least not now. He’s the king and I’m just a peasant.”

            Victoria’s eyes flashed with anger. “You shouldn’t just give up your life like that. Find something better to do than to follow what the advisors say!”

            Taecyeon smiled and shook his head again, “You don’t understand, Victoria. This is what I’m destined to do.”

            “There is no such thing as destiny!” Victoria shouted. “All of this crap is done out of luck! There’s no such thing as reincarnations!”

            Hyuna gave a sharp look at Victoria to shut her up. Then she turned to Taecyeon and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Taecyeon. Vic’s a little mad right now, and she doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

            Taecyeon nodded as if he understood and rode ahead of the girls. Hyuna turned her head sharply back at Victoria. “Vic! Don’t ever talk about that again! What you said was dangerous and could have gotten you killed!”

            “But that’s what I think,” Victoria complained. “Those are my thoughts. Why can’t I voice out my concerns?”

            “Because once you do, you’ll be beaten a hundred times and hung to your death,” Hyuna warned. She sighed and her eyes softened. “Vic, you know you can’t talk about those theories. Although they may be true, they’re not accepted in this society. And you know that this society is much different from the ones we came from.”

            Victoria nodded and kept her eyes to the ground. Both Hyuna and she came from a place where the society’s values were based on science. It really surprised Victoria when she found out about the Buddhist religion and rituals that were performed in Tawaran, although she was eight when she moved to the Ming Guan village.

                                                ::::::

            It was already evening after the first day of traveling, and the traveling group climbed off their camels to get ready and set up camp. One of the advisors pulled out some magic dust from a pouch, and he sprinkled the magic dust on a flat piece of land. Much to their surprise, a big house popped up out of nowhere.

            The advisor turned to Victoria and Hyuna. “This is where we will be staying for the next four months.”

            Victoria stared at the palace in awe as she followed the advisor in. She looked up at the ceiling and saw intricate designs of red flowers and green leaves. To her right was the vast dining hall, and to her left was the Victorian-styled living room. In front was a big archway that led her to the bedrooms. There were so many that she lost count on the way.

            One advisor walked up to the most elaborately decorated room and made an announcement. “This will be where the king and queen stay.”

            Victoria scoffed and whispered to herself, “Typical.”

            “Is there something wrong with the room, my lady?” the advisor looked uncomfortable.

            “Oh! Nothing’s wrong with the room. It’s beautiful,” she replied quickly. “I was just… thinking about something.”

            “She was probably thinking about how unfortunate it is to live with me, mister,” Nichkhun spoke out. He looked at Victoria with cold eyes. “Don’t worry, my dear, I won’t do anything to hurt you.”

            Victoria felt a tug from Hyuna to control her anger, but she just stared at Nichkhun and said, “You disgust me.”

            There was an awkward silence before the advisor cleared his throat and announced, “Well, um, that is the end of the tour. You all can now go to your designated rooms and rest for a while before dinner. See you then.”

            As everybody went their own way, Nichkhun followed Hyunseung and Taecyeon to another room. Victoria turned to Hyuna. “Can I look at your room?”

            Hyuna laughed. “I know what you’re trying to do, Vic, and no, you may not sleep over in my room for the next four months.”

            Victoria made a puppy-eyes face. “Please?”

            “No,” Hyuna replied, completely unaffected. “Now go look at your own room.”

            Victoria stayed outside and watched Hyuna go into her room, which was right next to hers. As Hyuna went in, Victoria sighed and opened the door to her own room. She looked around. The room was gorgeous. Built with mahogany and redwood, the room had a royal feel to it. To the left was a four-poster bed with a green and pink silk blanket, and in the middle, there was a medium-sized coffee table with two stools placed next to each other. Beyond the bed and table was an entrance to the bathroom. There was a golden sink to the left, and beyond it was a circular bathtub.

            As Victoria was observing the sink, she found funny shaped knobs and a structure shaped like an elephant’s nose. She turned the knobs and leaped back as water came pouring through the elephant nose structure. Oh my! There’s a pipe system here! It’s been seven years since I saw one of these, she thought to herself.

            Victoria decided to wash her face before she went to eat dinner. Taking off covering, Victoria looked at herself in the mirror. She had a heart-shaped face, almond-shaped eyes, a long nose, and a full but not large mouth. Victoria was overall satisfied with her appearance. There were some small flaws here and there, but she had to admit that she was not average looking. However, there was just one thing that she was extremely dissatisfied with: the dark, star-shaped mark plastered on the outside of her left eye.

            Victoria hated this birthmark. It was the only thing on her face that kept her skin from looking clean, and it was the thing that caused her to win that stupid contest. That small, pesky birthmark got her trapped in this mess, where she was stuck with a jerk for a lifetime partner and a life with no freedom whatsoever.

            Trying to vent out her anger, Victoria started furiously rubbing her birthmark, when Nichkhun walked into the room. She stopped immediately and began really washing her face. Nichkhun had a small smirk on his face as he casually strolled to the coffee table. “Trying to rub your face off, Miss Defect?”

            Victoria stopped midway in the process of splashing her face and shot arrows at him through her eyes. “What did you just call me?”

            “Miss Defect. You don’t like my new nickname for you?” Nichkhun kept a light tone in his voice. “But I thought it matched you quite well.”

            “You little brat! Are you trying to tempt me to beat you up?”

            “Little brat? You’re only one year older than me, and you can’t beat me up anyway!”

            “Oh yeah? You dare question someone who is trained in combat?”

            Victoria strode toward him and struck a blow. Nichkhun, not thinking that she’d actually strike, was completely defenseless and was struck in the stomach. Victoria let out a laugh and tried to hit him again. But then, Nichkhun knew what was happening and blocked her blow by catching her wrist. Victoria yelled and screamed to make him let go, but he caught her other wrist and pushed her back to the wall.

            “Let go!” Victoria yelled at him, her eyes flaring up at him. “Get your hands off of me!”

            Something happened. Nichkhun didn’t know what, nor did Victoria, but something happened. Something changed. Nichkhun kissed Victoria. Possibly to stop her from yelling, possibly out of desperation for… something. He tightened his grasp on her wrists, which were trying to wriggle their way out of this mess, and he kept on kissing her, his eyes closed.

            For a few seconds, Victoria resisted. She scrunched up and tried to wrench her hands free. But then, something fell over her as well. A wave, possibly. A wave of relaxation beginning from the top of her head and ending at the bottom of her feet. Her muscles lost their tension and her hands became limp. Then, she closed her eyes and kissed him back. The kiss started simply, with a soft collision of the lips and noses. Then, it became deeper.

            Pressing on each other’s lips, Victoria and Nichkhun lost all senses of the world. They became people of different stories, different times, different situations, and different worlds. All they focused on was the joy and passion they felt when they inhaled each other’s breath and when they pressed on each other’s lips.

            The whole world melted away. Victoria lost all her senses. She couldn’t even feel herself kiss Nichkhun anymore. She was on a bed with silky sheets and comfortable pillows, supporting her body with the softest feathers.

            Suddenly, the door opened, and the spell was broken. Both pushed back as far away from the other as they possibly could, their eyes like deer caught in headlights. But no matter how far they backed away, the advisor who opened the door saw their intimate moment. He stood there with his mouth hanging open like a frozen statue. After he regained his composure, he cleared his throat and bowed, backing away in the process. “I am very sorry, your highnesses. Please continue.”